Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, 2009. / Title from screen (viewed on August 27, 2009). School of Nursing, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Melinda M. Swenson, Kathleen M. Russell, Deborah Stiffler, Larry J. Zimmerman. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-185).

This study is a qualitative, phenomenological inquiry into teachers’ and children’s ‘lived experiences’ of the child-teacher relationship in an Irish upper primary school context. It highlights the current need to re-focus our attention on the child-teacher relationship which Biesta (2004) argues is the 'location' of education. An overview of the literature on relational pedagogy is provided which connects the child-teacher relationship to broader theoretical debates including Heidegger's (1962) concept of Mitsein and Buber's I- Thou relation (1937). Hermeneutic phenomenology describes the overarching methodology following van Manen’s (1990) ‘lived experience’ approach. The study was conducted in a large, suburban, primary school with designated disadvantaged status. Before data generation commenced, a Children’s Research Advisory Group was established in the school following Lundy, McEvoy, and Byrne (2011). The function of this group was to advise about conducting research with children. Research participants included three teachers and five children from each of those teachers’ classes. Data generation featured the use of protocol writing and conversational interviews following van Manen (1990, 2014) and the use of embodied, drama methods which were unique to this study but inspired by the work of Norris (2000) and guided by O’Sullivan (2011). Data was also generated using visual methods drawing on the work of Mitchell (2011), Tinkler (2015) and Chappell and Craft (2011). In line with the phenomenological approach adopted, data was interpreted in what Gadamer (1989) describes as a circular manner. This involves attending to ‘parts’ whilst keeping in mind the ‘whole’ picture. This study identified three overarching thematic findings which find resonance with the fields of relational pedagogy and embodied teaching and learning as well as new insights at the point where these two areas overlap. These include how teachers and children relate to one another as ‘whole, embodied feeling beings’; the idea that there is a tension between ‘closeness’ and ‘distance’ in the child teacher relationship and that there is a need for both ‘structure’ and ‘freedom’ to feature in that relationship. Further, this study found that the child-teacher relationship is experienced as ‘knotted’ with social and contextual relationships. These findings are discussed in light of the concepts of ‘connectedness’ and ‘emergence’, features of complexity theory. This study provides new insights into how teachers and children experience their relationships with one another, thereby extending the body of knowledge on the child-teacher relationship.

Neste trabalho, analisamos o modo como o processo de seleção de pessoal se estabeleceu em meio às determinações de sentido nesta que Martin Heidegger denominou a era da técnica. Esse filósofo descreve a época em que vivemos como uma era que se caracteriza essencialmente pela ênfase no pensamento técnico-calculante, em que todas as coisas são tomadas pelo caráter da mensuração e calculabilidade. Nesse sentido, podemos afirmar que a era moderna detém como verdades algumas características, como: fundo de reserva, funcionalidade (serventia) e a produtividade sem limites. Esse modelo de pensamento tem um impacto direto na realização do processo de seleção de pessoal pela Psicologia, haja vista ser esse o critério básico exigido para que o trabalhador seja aprovado. Ocorre que, ao tomar esse critério como a única e absoluta verdade da capacidade do trabalhador, outras capacidades e motivações, quando muito, ficam relegadas a um segundo plano. O homem, tomado como um estoque de matéria-prima, com funcionalidades específicas e pela determinação da produtividade incessante, passa a se comportar de modo autômato, tal como a máquina, cuja utilidade dura enquanto durar a necessidade de sua produção, sendo descartado quando outras necessidades se sobrepõem àquela. Através da análise da trajetória da organização do trabalho e sua interface com a Psicologia, procuramos esclarecer o domínio do caráter técnico instrumental que vem sustentando a Psicologia no modo de realização da seleção de pessoal, baseando-nos em autores como Sampaio, Chiavenato, Pontes e Leme. Apresentamos, também, a contribuição de outros autores, como Sennett, Dejours e Schwartz, que tentaram, a seu modo, construir uma análise crítica da relação homem-trabalho sob os parâmetros predominantes na atualidade. Por fim, por meio a uma visada fenomenológico-hermenêutica, pudemos refletir sobre o processo de seleção em Psicologia e compreender como esta, ao ser constantemente interpelada pela era da técnica, vem tomando os atributos dessa era como verdades absolutas e, assim, estabelecendo seu fazer em seleção de pessoal sob essas verdades. Ao orientar seu fazer por esse modo, a Psicologia, comprometida com o processo de seleção, compactua, sedimenta e fortalece essa forma de pensar em que o homem é tomado como objeto de produção tal qual a máquina, consolidando uma relação homem-trabalho em bases preponderantemente deterministas e, como tal, aprisionadoras. A proposta aqui desenvolvida consiste em evidenciar a possibilidade de outra posição da Psicologia frente ao modo de estabelecimento do processo de seleção, de forma a resistir à perspectiva de homem apenas como um fator produtivo. / In this work, we examined how the process of personnel selection was established at determinations of a period called by Martin Heidegger as the era of technology. This philosopher describes the time we live in such an era that is essentially characterized by the emphasis on technical and calculating thought, in which all things are made by the character of the measurement and accountability. In this way, we can say that the modern era has some characteristics taken as truths, as reserve fund, functionality (usefulness) and productivity without limits. This type of thinking has a direct impact on the achievement of the personnel selection process by Psychology, considering this is the basic criterion required for the worker to be approved. However, if this criterion is taken as a absolute truth and capacity of the worker, other capabilities and motivations are relegated to low priority. Man, taken as a stock of raw material, with specific functionalities and at determination of uninterrupted productivity, begins to behave automaton mode, such as machine, whose usefulness lasts as long as the need for its production. Afterwards, he is discarded when other needs overlap those former needs. Through the analysis of the industrial work trajectory and its interface with Psychology, we could clarify the field of the instrumental technical model that has sustained Psychology in the way of accomplishing personnel selection, based in Sampaio, Chiavenato, Pontes and Leme theories. We also presented the contribution of other authors such as Sennett, Dejours and Schwartz, who have tried, in their own way, to build a critical analysis of worker labor relationship, under current parameters. Finally, through a phenomenological-hermeneutic sight, we could meditate on the selection process in Psychology and to understand how this, which is constantly challenged by the era of technology, has been taking the attributes of that era as absolute truths and thus establishing its making in personnel selection under these truths. Guiding its doing by this way, Psychology, committed to the process of selection, complies, consolidates and strengthens this way of thinking, in which man is regarded as an object of production such the machine, consolidating a man-work relationship predominantly on deterministic and, as such, imprisoning bases. The proposal developed here is to emphasize the possibility of another position of Psychology in relation to the mode of the established selection process, in order to resist the prospect of man only as a productive factor.

This thesis explores how those involved in a mobile-slaughtering mode of beef production engage with, and experience cattle bodies throughout the beef producing process. These experiences are examined in relation to historical accounts of how people have experienced cattle bodies in both pre-industrialized and post industrialized modes of beef production. Furthermore, an ethnographic study of a Swedish mobile-slaughtering company was conducted, followed by analysis using hermeneutic phenomenology and the concepts of liminality and Ellis’ boundary labour (2014). This thesis has shown that cattle bodies are experienced differently depending on the context of interaction, and that these experiences are both similar and different from those in pre-industrial and industrial beef production. This research contributes to a larger body of research exploring human-animal interactions, and contributes to understanding the experiences of those who are engaged in beef production.

Neste trabalho, analisamos o modo como o processo de seleção de pessoal se estabeleceu em meio às determinações de sentido nesta que Martin Heidegger denominou a era da técnica. Esse filósofo descreve a época em que vivemos como uma era que se caracteriza essencialmente pela ênfase no pensamento técnico-calculante, em que todas as coisas são tomadas pelo caráter da mensuração e calculabilidade. Nesse sentido, podemos afirmar que a era moderna detém como verdades algumas características, como: fundo de reserva, funcionalidade (serventia) e a produtividade sem limites. Esse modelo de pensamento tem um impacto direto na realização do processo de seleção de pessoal pela Psicologia, haja vista ser esse o critério básico exigido para que o trabalhador seja aprovado. Ocorre que, ao tomar esse critério como a única e absoluta verdade da capacidade do trabalhador, outras capacidades e motivações, quando muito, ficam relegadas a um segundo plano. O homem, tomado como um estoque de matéria-prima, com funcionalidades específicas e pela determinação da produtividade incessante, passa a se comportar de modo autômato, tal como a máquina, cuja utilidade dura enquanto durar a necessidade de sua produção, sendo descartado quando outras necessidades se sobrepõem àquela. Através da análise da trajetória da organização do trabalho e sua interface com a Psicologia, procuramos esclarecer o domínio do caráter técnico instrumental que vem sustentando a Psicologia no modo de realização da seleção de pessoal, baseando-nos em autores como Sampaio, Chiavenato, Pontes e Leme. Apresentamos, também, a contribuição de outros autores, como Sennett, Dejours e Schwartz, que tentaram, a seu modo, construir uma análise crítica da relação homem-trabalho sob os parâmetros predominantes na atualidade. Por fim, por meio a uma visada fenomenológico-hermenêutica, pudemos refletir sobre o processo de seleção em Psicologia e compreender como esta, ao ser constantemente interpelada pela era da técnica, vem tomando os atributos dessa era como verdades absolutas e, assim, estabelecendo seu fazer em seleção de pessoal sob essas verdades. Ao orientar seu fazer por esse modo, a Psicologia, comprometida com o processo de seleção, compactua, sedimenta e fortalece essa forma de pensar em que o homem é tomado como objeto de produção tal qual a máquina, consolidando uma relação homem-trabalho em bases preponderantemente deterministas e, como tal, aprisionadoras. A proposta aqui desenvolvida consiste em evidenciar a possibilidade de outra posição da Psicologia frente ao modo de estabelecimento do processo de seleção, de forma a resistir à perspectiva de homem apenas como um fator produtivo. / In this work, we examined how the process of personnel selection was established at determinations of a period called by Martin Heidegger as the era of technology. This philosopher describes the time we live in such an era that is essentially characterized by the emphasis on technical and calculating thought, in which all things are made by the character of the measurement and accountability. In this way, we can say that the modern era has some characteristics taken as truths, as reserve fund, functionality (usefulness) and productivity without limits. This type of thinking has a direct impact on the achievement of the personnel selection process by Psychology, considering this is the basic criterion required for the worker to be approved. However, if this criterion is taken as a absolute truth and capacity of the worker, other capabilities and motivations are relegated to low priority. Man, taken as a stock of raw material, with specific functionalities and at determination of uninterrupted productivity, begins to behave automaton mode, such as machine, whose usefulness lasts as long as the need for its production. Afterwards, he is discarded when other needs overlap those former needs. Through the analysis of the industrial work trajectory and its interface with Psychology, we could clarify the field of the instrumental technical model that has sustained Psychology in the way of accomplishing personnel selection, based in Sampaio, Chiavenato, Pontes and Leme theories. We also presented the contribution of other authors such as Sennett, Dejours and Schwartz, who have tried, in their own way, to build a critical analysis of worker labor relationship, under current parameters. Finally, through a phenomenological-hermeneutic sight, we could meditate on the selection process in Psychology and to understand how this, which is constantly challenged by the era of technology, has been taking the attributes of that era as absolute truths and thus establishing its making in personnel selection under these truths. Guiding its doing by this way, Psychology, committed to the process of selection, complies, consolidates and strengthens this way of thinking, in which man is regarded as an object of production such the machine, consolidating a man-work relationship predominantly on deterministic and, as such, imprisoning bases. The proposal developed here is to emphasize the possibility of another position of Psychology in relation to the mode of the established selection process, in order to resist the prospect of man only as a productive factor.

Abstract The aim of this thesis is to present a theoretically consistent conceptualization of knowledge creation as an interactive event and to test this in a working community in a methodologically coherent manner. This thesis examines the key problems in the body of research of knowledge creation in the field of Knowledge Management, which is attached to the idea of knowledge as an asset inside a human mind, but simultaneously promotes a view of interaction, based on hermeneutic understanding. The study proposes an alternative way to conceptualize and examine knowledge creation, based on hermeneutic phenomenology of Hans-Georg Gadamer and Martin Heidegger. The foci are on the conceptions of a human being and interaction as play. On the basis of the research literature, a framework for examining knowledge creation was developed. The framework was empirically tested in a multi-organizational and multi-professional working community of librarians and teachers, participating in The Joy of Reading Program in Finland. Along with the research literature, the triangulated data consist of ethnographic observations and video recordings of the community’s gatherings, its members’ interviews and produced documents. The data were analyzed through a qualitative approach. The results show that the phenomenological conceptions of temporality of a human being and play are suitable for understanding being in the knowledge-creating interaction, as they give means to understand the meaningfulness of past experiences, but promote an open attitude towards future possibilities in a way which promotes knowledge creation. Studying interactive events allows for an understanding of how the phenomenon of knowledge creation can be examined as a collective accomplishment. The importance of flexible circumstances is emphasized to promote interaction. The playful mode of being in the event, meaning seriousness and the tendency to be present in the event, was seen as a way to use the time available effectively. The results may be utilized to develop organizational circumstances, which promote knowledge creation by acknowledging the meaningfulness of interaction. In the future, theoretical sampling will be used for testing and developing the framework further in a Finnish Academy’s Strategic Research Council’s consortium BCDC Energy aiming at developing a cloud computing based market place on renewable energy markets. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimus esittää teoreettisesti yhtenäisen käsitteellistyksen tiedon luomisesta vuorovaikutteisena tapahtumana. Tätä käsitteellistykseen perustuvaa viitekehystä testataan empiirisesti tarkastelemalla tiedon luomisen edellytyksiä ja uuden tiedon luomisen mahdollistavaa vuorovaikutusta moniammatillisessa työyhteisössä. Tiedon luomisen tutkimus on perinteisesti kiinnittynyt ajatukseen tiedosta mielen sisäisenä varantona. Samanaikaisesti tiedon luomisen tutkimuksessa korostetaan vuorovaikutusta, joka on usein käsitetty varsin hermeneuttisena tapahtumana. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan näiden kahden lähtökohdan yhdistämisestä muodostuneita ongelmia tietojohtamisen alalla. Tutkimus esittää vaihtoehtoisen, Martin Heideggerin ja Hans-Georg Gadamerin hermeneuttiseen fenomenologiaan perustuvan tavan käsittää ja tutkia tiedon luomista siten, että hermeneuttinen käsitys vuorovaikutuksesta ei ole ristiriidassa tiedon käsitteen kanssa. Tutkimuksen keskeisinä tarkastelun kohteina ovat fenomenologinen ihmiskäsitys ja ajatus vuorovaikutuksesta leikkinä. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin hermeneuttisen fenomenologian suhdetta tiedon luomisen nykytutkimukseen ja kehitettiin hermeneuttiseen fenomenologiaan perustuen viitekehys tiedon luomisen empiiristä tutkimusta varten. Viitekehystä testattiin empiirisesti valtakunnalliseen Lukuinto-ohjelmaan osallistuneessa, kirjaston työntekijöiden ja opettajien muodostamassa, moni-ammatillisessa työyhteisössä. Tutkimuskirjallisuuden lisäksi tutkimuksen aineisto koostui etnografisesta havainnointiaineistosta, työyhteisön kokousten videoinneista, yhteisön jäsenten haastatteluista ja heidän tuottamistaan dokumenteista. Aineisto analysoitiin laadullisella otteella tarkastelemalla sekä työyhteisössä käytyjä keskusteluja että työyhteisön jäsenten kokemuksia tiedon luomisesta Lukuinto-ohjelmassa. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että fenomenologinen käsitteellistys olemisen ajallisesta luonteesta ja leikistä avoimena yhdessä olemisen tilana soveltuvat hyvin tietoa luovan vuorovaikutuksen ymmärtämiseen, sillä käsitteellistys huomioi menneiden kokemusten merkityksen uuden tiedon luomisessa, mutta painottaa myös avoimen tulevan ja sen mahdollisuuksien ymmärtämisen merkitystä tavalla, joka edistää uuden luomista. Vuorovaikutustapahtumien tutkiminen mahdollistaa tiedon luomisen ymmärtämisen jaettuna, yhteisenä tapahtumana ja kokemuksena. Joustavien olosuhteiden merkitys tiedon luomisessa korostuu. Leikinomainen vuorovaikutuksessa oleminen, kuten tilanteen vakavasti ottaminen ja läsnäolo, nähtiin tutkimuksessa tapana käyttää aika tehokkaasti. Tutkimuksen tuloksia voidaan käyttää organisaatioissa sellaisten olosuhteiden kehittämiseen, jotka huomioivat vuorovaikutuksen merkityksellisyyden tiedon luomisessa. Jatkossa tässä väitöskirjassa esiteltyä lähestymistapaa ja viitekehystä tullaan edelleen kehittämään ja testaamaan teoreettisen otannan avulla Suomen Akatemian Strategisen Tutkimuksen Neuvoston rahoittamassa BCDC Energia -konsortiossa.

The purpose of this study was to explore how physiotherapists working in stroke care understand their role(s) in the context of clinical practice and how this is mediated by their post-licensure educational experiences. Specifically the study focused on their experiences with the Bobath Concept, a well-developed post-licensure neurology physiotherapy program. This study was oriented within sociocultural theory as a way to understand how the experiences and interactions of physiotherapists mediate their professional practice and their sense of professional identity in a way not previously studied in physiotherapy literature. In order to honour the voices of the participants, this study drew on hermeneutic phenomenology and used a principled data analysis tool to present an understanding of the interrelationships involved in stroke care from their perspectives. Four physiotherapists participated in this study by responding in writing and orally to a clinical case and participating in an in-depth interview regarding their professional roles and experiences. The findings suggest that these physiotherapists understand the Bobath Concept as a professional stance which informs their practice and contributes to an ethos of caring, which is reflected in the ways they understand their roles in clinical practice.

An extensive body of educational literature examines the process and implications of how an individual becomes a teacher, but studies within this field often minimize or ignore the existential nature of this act of becoming. Something happens to the individual as they enter into the teaching profession and commence their teaching practice and in many educational jurisdictions, those happenings are left for the novice teacher to grapple with in isolation. This study presents interpretations of four teacher candidates’ sense of becoming and provides a meta-analysis of important existential themes arising from examinations of the participants’ professional self-understanding. This study engages with the concept of existential becoming in teacher candidates through a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to interpretation and understanding. Four teacher candidates, about to enter their final teaching practicum before graduating from an eight-month Bachelor of Education program as certified teachers, participated in this research project which included one-on-one interviews, journal analysis and focus groups. Interpretations of these teacher candidates’ understandings of becoming a teacher are organized by Kelchtermans’ professional self-understanding framework and presented through the use of poetic vignettes and images of the teacher candidates’ paths of becoming. These aesthetic representations of teacher candidates’ understandings of becoming offer an alternative and existentially-informed vehicle for teacher candidate reflection and professional self-understanding. Data analysis and hermeneutic interpretations among and between the researcher and the participants revealed a number of existential themes present in the teacher candidates’ understandings of becoming a teacher, including: fear, responsibility, authenticity, purpose, and the self. Each theme is examined via a connection to both existential and teacher education literature and implications for teacher education programs are discussed.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to enrich the understanding of the counselling and psychotherapy experiences of women who have previously or currently worked in the Canadian sex industry. I conducted semi-structured interviews with 6 participants ranging in age from 19 to 52 who described an individual counselling experience in which they revealed their sex work employment status. I analyzed the interview drawing from a Gadamerian hermeneutic phenomenological approach grounded in feminist standpoint theory. The results revealed 17 themes organized in 5 categories: (a) seeking counselling, (b) the therapeutic relationship, (c) disclosure of sex work, (d) counselling outcomes, and (e) recommendations for counsellors working with sex workers. The results shed light on indoor sex worker clients’ heterogeneous counselling needs, expectations, and experiences, providing valuable considerations for culturally responsive and socially just practice with sex workers. The discussion of the results reflects previous research studies, clinical implications, and suggestions for future research.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether and in what ways an intensive eight-week Mindfulness-Based Symptom Management (MBSM) program might shape the therapeutic experiences of therapists. I used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to interview and develop in-depth descriptions of four therapists’ experiences in relation to mindfulness and their therapeutic practices. The data collection consisted of: (1) a telephone screening interview; (2) pre-mindfulness training interview; (3) post-mindfulness training interview; (4) field notes based on my observations, subjective experiences, and beginning analyses; (5) and member-checks to verify the accuracy of my interpretations of participants’ interview responses. The results pointed to several common themes indicating the changes therapists described after participating in the mindfulness program. Themes denoting the reported changes were organized into three categories: (1) personal relationship with mindfulness; (2) relationship between mindfulness and therapeutic experiences; and (3) mindfulness-oriented interventions performed in therapy. The findings indicated that mindfulness training is associated with the enhancement of important relational attitudes and skills of therapists, including more acceptance of where clients are at, more presence in therapy, increased capacity to listen, openness and curiosity, and more compassion and empathy. In addition, mindfulness training may be linked to improved reflexive abilities, which has implications for more intentional and ethical decision-making in therapy. Further, the findings also indicated that mindfulness training may be linked to improvements in emotion regulation by decreasing stress, increasing feelings of relaxation and calmness, improving awareness of negative emotional and cognitive states as well as the ability to interrupt these negative cycles. As such, this study pointed to several potential benefits for the inclusion of mindfulness training in therapists’ self-care practices as well as in therapist education.